Sunday, 8 January 2012

Hillend trees and flees!

Went for a walk yesterday afternoon at Hillend and noticed that the jetty has been damaged by the storms we had last week and that part of it is lying in the narrows near the cottage half submerged. I walked round the back of the cottage and up the hill at the narrows and up along the dyke that runs along the hill to the the big tree, my favourite spot to sit and gaze across the loch. There were quite a number of old trees blown down by the recents winds which I often think is sad as these trees in some cases are over a 100 years old. I then decided to walk over to the old estate house which has lay derelict since 1937, the course over to the house proved more difficult than I first thought as I had to negotiate some serious bog to get there. It must have been a magnificent house in its day with a great view looking toward the loch.

I have often wondered why the boathouse bay at Hillend is so called as there is no sign of any boathouse what so ever I can only guess that there must have been one at some time in the past as the old estate house is only about 300 yards away in the woods.

I then continued on my walk up to the point of the woods and then round the back and cut through the woods back to the bay , down the narrows back to car and then off home. After a nice hot drink I sat down at the vice and tied a few flies the best of which was the one above.

The Dabbler of Hillend

Welcome To My Blog

It was Prince Phillip who first introduced me to fly fishing, well sort of, for it was while preparing for my Duke of Edinburgh award expedition among the lochans and hills above Lochgilphead that I first developed a passion for angling and hillwalking. My name is Allan. I am an enthusiastic flyfisher and flytyer. I am by no means an authority on fly fishing and flytying by any stretch of the imagination. I have been a member of Airdrie & District Angling Club for about twenty years. I like to fish Hillend Loch at least once a week during the course of the season. When I can I like to get away to the Scottish Highlands in the pursuit of fishing for wild brown trout. I will often incorporate my fly fishing with my other passion which is hillwalking. I love nothing better than a trek into the mountains with my rod and reel and an assortment of flies. Once the fishing season is over my attention turns to fly tying which I enjoy just as much as fly fishing. I hope you enjoy your visit to my blog and hope you find it both informative and interesting. Please feel free to leave comments... good, bad or indifferent.